While Dallas has traditionally been a stronghold in the Texas economy, the area saw a surge around the 1970’s which has continued unto the present day. Today, the Dallas area has swallowed up areas that were once small little towns on the Texas landscape a mere thirty years ago.

Due to this expansion, today the employment prospects in the Dallas area are comprised of much more than just what is located within the city limits of Dallas. The Dallas/Fort Worth Metropolitan Area consists of several other cities including Irving, Plano, Denton, Arlington, and Garland as well as many others.

According to the 2000 Census the largest percentage of individuals in the Dallas area were employed in Management and Professional Occupations at almost 34%. 28% of the area population were employed in Sales and Office Occupations. The remaining percentages were employed in Service, Production and Construction.

Dallas Employment – Major Employers

Texas Instruments is one of the world’s leading technology companies, operating in 25 countries. More than 10,000 employees are based in the Dallas area alone. As of 2003, Texas Instruments was ranked at #197 on the Fortune 500 list.

Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. is one of the world’s largest suppliers of aerostructures. They design and manufacture major airframe structures including wings, fuselages and other components. They average annual sales in the $1.3 billion range. Although they are headquartered in Dallas, Vought has offices in six other locations. They employ more than 6000 people throughout those seven locations.

Raytheon Intelligence & Info is a leader in defense and government electronics as well as information technology. Headquartered in Massachusetts, Raytheon employs more than 80,000 people worldwide. Their office in Garland, Texas; just outside the Dallas city limits is just one of their many locations.

Lockheed Martin is a widely diverse company with business areas in aeronautics, electronic systems, information and technology and space systems. They employ 130,000 people worldwide. Their location in Dallas is just one of their many sites.

Dallas Employment – Career Prospects

The original data that was release for the year of 2004 for the Dallas Metroplex was not encouraging. It revealed that unemployment rates were up; indicating that the overall employment prospects in Dallas were poor. New reports released in March 2005, however; seem to reveal a different story.

Looking Ahead

According to the original numbers it appeared that employment in Dallas had only grown by slightly more than 13,000 jobs. New data moved those numbers closer to the 36,500 mark.

These numbers reveal that many markets, which had previously remained weak in Dallas, may experience an upswing.

It is anticipated that the real estate market may experience a recovery as well as office jobs, which had previously seen a decrease in the last few years.